When Hurricane Isaac stalled above New Orleans last week, so did Donald Vallee's campaign for a New Orleans City Council seat. The landowner and Uptown businessman dropped out of the District B race Friday and endorsed former rival Eric Strachan.

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Vallee
said Isaac damaged several of his properties in eastern New Orleans, as
well as his gun club in Belle Chasse. But the switch from candidate to
repairman wasn't a difficult leap for him. He admitted his campaign
never really got off the ground.

Vallee said he chose to endorse
Strachan, the youthful former chief of staff for Councilwoman Stacy
Head, because Strachan comes the closest among the candidates and
sitting council members to representing the business community.

"I respect Stacy and the rest of them, but they don't have a clue," he said.

Strachan welcomed Vallee's endorsement in a statement Friday.

Strachan
still faces three opponents in the Nov. 6 primary: Broadmoor community
leader LaToya Cantrell, juvenile justice advocate Dana Kaplan and
musician and restaurateur Marlon Horton Jr. They are battling to succeed
Head, who gave up the District B seat after she was elected to an
at-large post in April. Interim Councilwoman Diana Bajoie, who by law
cannot run, is holding the seat until the election.

District B includes swaths of Central City, Mid-City, the Central Business District, the Garden District and Uptown.

Friday was the last day candidates could withdraw and have their names removed from the Nov. 6 ballot.